TYPES OF AGREEMENT
Venda has predicate-argument agreement (indexation), head-modifier agreement (concord) and anaphoric (pronominal) agreement. All three types use concords based on a system of noun classes (all nouns) and pronouns (first and second persons).
a. Indexation
Subjects and Objects are indexed on the verb. Subject Concords are obligatory and Object Concords are optional.
(1) (Mun-nna) u a u zwim-a (mu-vhuda)
NC1-man SC1 PT OC3 hunt NC3-hare
'(The man) he hunts it (the hare).' (ZWM 1981, 24)
The Subject ("Munnna") is cross referenced on the verb with the Subject Concord "u" and the Object ("muvhuda") is cross referenced on the verb with the Object Concord "u". Although the subject and object come from different noun classes, the Subject Concord of NC1 is identical to the Object Concord of NC3; however their order on the verb clearly indicates one as the Subject Concord and the other as the Object Concord. (Note: The Subject and Object nouns are optional, which, according to Ferguson and Barlow (19 ) might suggest that this is not agreement but pronouns or that the Subject and Object Nouns are actually in agreement with the verb. However since the Subject/Object Concords are determined by the Subject/Object, and also because the Object Concord is optional, this appears to be a case of agreement, where the verb is in agreement with its arguments, Subject and Object.)
b. Head-Modifier
Agreement in Noun Phrases is from the Head to the Modifier, that is the Noun Class of the head of the NP is cross referenced on the Modifier with a Concord or Agreement Marker. We see this in Adjective Phrases, Genitive Phrases, and Relative Clauses.
H M
(3) n-guvho n-tswa
NC9-blanket AC9-new
'a new blanket' (ZWM 1981, 82)
(4) O/-khotsi a vha-tukhana
NC1a-father PC1a NC2-boy
'the boys' father' (Poulos 1990, 132)
(5) vha-thu vha tshibiila-ho
NC2-being RC2 walk-RCS
'people who walk' (ZWM 1981, 77)
c. Anaphoric/Pronominal Agreement
Concords can also be found referenced on pronouns. For instance, concords can be attached to possessive pronominal stems. There are pronominal stems for first and second persons and for each of the Noun Classes.
(6) O/-kholomo dza-nga
NC10-cattle PC10-1PS(Pron Stem)
'my cattle' (ZWM 1981, 63)
(7) (tshi-mange) O/-thoho ya tshone
(NC7-cat) NC9-head PC9 NC7(Pron Stem)
'its head' ('it' = 'cat')
Venda also has "pronominal stems" for demonstratives and relative pronouns which reflect agreement with a noun class.
(8) vha-thu a-vha
NC2-being DEMIb-NC2
'these people' (ZWM 1981, 67)
(9) mu-di u-no
NC3-village DEMI-NC3
'this here village' (ZWM 1981, 67)
For each of the the 16 demonstratives each there is a demonstrative stem which reflects agreement with a noun class, although the noun class is not affixed to the demonstrative, but a part of it. (Phonological processes have affected the phonetic realization of the demonstrative stems, but there is still evidence that these are derived from a NC affix plus demonstrative stem.)
(10) zwi-kwekkwe zwi-ne zwa fasha
NC8-trap NC8-Rel Stem RC8 catch
'traps which catch' (ZWM 1981, 78)
(11) li-iva li-ne la fhufhaho
NC5-dove NC5-Rel.Stem RC5 fly
'a dove which flies' (ZWM 1981, 78)
(12) nne a-ne nda amba Tshi-venda
1PS NC1-Rel Stem RC-1PS speak NC7-Venda
'I who speak Venda' (Poulos 1990, 144)
First and second persons use the relative pronouns for NC1 and NC2. There does not seem to be agreement on Relative Pronouns for first and second person. Agreement on Demonstrative stems is also limited to Noun Classes.
CATEGORIES EVIDENCED IN AGREEMENT
Agreement in Venda is based totally on the Concord system. Concords in Venda encode number, noun class, and person. (We could also say it encodes Noun Class or person since Noun Classes are always third person.)
(13) U bika zwino
SC1 cook now
'She cooks now.' (ZWM 1981, 24)
In (13) the Subject Concord "u" encodes: number (singular), person (3rd), and noun class (Noun Class 1). Although the gloss uses the feminine English pronoun, concords in Venda do not express gender. Definiteness or animacy does not seem to affect the use of concords in Venda.
FUSION OF CATEGORIES
Concords fuse number, noun class, and person.
(13a) Vha-sadzi vho bika
NC2-woman PF2 cook
'The women have cooked.' (ZWM 1981, 46)
In (13a) the Perfective Concord "vho" encodes number (plural), person (3rd), noun
class (Noun Class 2) and the perfective. Both ZWM (1981) and Poulos (1990) describe this
concord as the fusion of a Subject Concord and the perfective marker. We could extend
this process to the Possessive Concord, which also changes the vowel of the Noun Class
Marker. Agreement markers in Venda have fused with other markers (such as the
perfective and the possessive) in some cases, encoding information beyond agreement.
CONFLICT AND STRICTNESS (I included this because it interested me.)
Sometimes there is a "mismatch" of number, when a plural Noun Class or affix is used for a singular noun, as a sign of respect.
(14) Ida-ni fhano
come-PL here
'Come here!' (Poulos 1990, 241)
(15) O/-Makhulu wa-nga vho bva na m-mbwa
NC1a-grandmother PC1a-1PSstem SC2b-PC walk with NC9-dog
'My grandmother went for a walk with the dog.'
In (14), addressing someone with the plural form ("-ni"), is more polite than using the unmarked singular form. In (15) although "makhulu" ('grandmother') is a NC1a noun and the possessive concord corresponds with NC1a (a singular Noun Class), the Subject Concord "vho" is from Noun Class 2b, a plural Noun Class. Use of a non-agreeing concord denotes respect in this context.
Noun Class 2 (plural) might also be used instead of second person singular to show respect:
(16) Vha do mu thusa matshelo?
SC2 FT OC1 help tomorrow
Will you help him tomorrow? (Poulos 1990, 219)
When nouns from different Noun Classes are coordinated, there are some conventions for what Subject Concords are used; for instance, for people, SC2 is used while SC8 is generally used for non-human coordinated subjects. SC8 is also used when a human noun and a non-human noun are coordinated. A more common strategy is to avoid having to use a coordinated subject and to place one of the nouns in an adjunct phrase.
(17) Ni do sala na m-mbwa
2PS FT remain with NC9-dog
'You will remain behind with the dog.' (Poulos 1990, 221)
This is preferable to "You and the dog will remain behind" which requires combining human and non-human categories.
CASE MARKING
Venda does not have any case-marking. Arguments of the verb are not marked in any way. Word order and/or indexation indicate which noun phrases are Subjects or Objects. Benefactives, datives, and some locatives and instrumentals are expressed through verb extensions and many instrumentals and locatives are indicated through adpositions/clitics.
ABBREVIATIONS
1PS first person singular
2PS second person singular
NC Noun Class
SC Subject Concord
PT Present Tense
PF Perfective Concord
AC Adjective Concord
PC Possessive Concord
RC Relative Concord
DEM Demonstrative
PL Plural
FT Future Tense
O/ Null Affix
References:
Poulos, George. 1990 A Linguistic Analysis of Venda. Pretoria: Via Afrika Limited.
Van Warmelo, N. 1989. Venda Dictionary Tshivenda-English. Pretori. Government Printer.
Ziervogel, D., P.J. Wentzel, and T.N. Makuya 1981. A Handbook of the Venda Language. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
(I have used the abbreviation "ZWM" for "Ziervogel, Wentzel, and Makuya.")
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Revised May 4, 1999